On August 18, 2007, Afghan criminals kidnapped German humanitarian aid worker, Christina Meier, from a Kabul restaurant. At the time of her kidnapping, Meier, 31, was sitting with her husband in broad daylight. Meier was seized at gunpoint and detained for two days by a group of six men allegedly motivated by money. On August 20, 2007, Afghan police rescued Meier in a pre-dawn raid.
Meier’s kidnapping, the latest in a string involving foreigners, and in particular, Germans, has once more highlighted German citizens as an attractive target for terrorism. In recent months, German civilians have come under attack around the globe leading to a number of kidnappings.
As we previously reported, in June 2007, German authorities announced the country was facing a re-invigorated threat of terrorist attacks. Although the threat and subsequent action taken by German authorities are based primarily on the homeland, German citizens traveling and residing outside of the country are also at risk.
As conflicts persist in Iraq and Afghanistan, German assets, citizens, and troops, both at home and abroad, will likely continue to be targeted for terrorist actions and criminal activity, specifically kidnappings.
German Citizens Abducted Abroad
As we previously reported, in February 2007, an unknown Islamist militant group kidnapped two German aid workers, a mother and her adult son, in Iraq. On March 10, 2007, the “Brigade of the Arrows of Righteousness” released a video of the two hostages. In the video, the captive woman pled for her son’s life and beseeched German Chancellor Angela Merkel to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
On July 18, 2007, Afghan militants kidnapped German national Rudolph Blechschmidt, along with a male colleague in Wardak province. A few days following the abduction, Blechschmidt’s colleague collapsed and was subsequently shot dead. Blechschmidt remains in captivity. On August 19, 2007, Afghan public television reported Blechschmidt was alive but in a weakened condition.
Kidnapping Preferred Method
In recent years the Afghan-based Taliban and al-Qaeda backers have publicly announced their intentions to target foreigners for kidnappings as a preferred tactic to force international military forces out of Afghanistan.
In a recent example, on July 19, 2007, hard-line Islamist extremists kidnapped 23 Korean Christian aid workers. Since that date, the captors have killed two hostages, and released two. Currently, negotiations to release the remaining captives are at a standstill with the extremists demanding the discharge of fellow comrades from prison in exchange for the Koreans.
German Female Aid Worker Kidnapped and Released
In the latest incident, on August 18, 2007, German aid worker, Christina Meier was kidnapped from a Kabul restaurant. Four men pulled up to the restaurant in a gray Toyota Corolla. Upon reaching the restaurant, one man went inside and placed an order for a pizza, while two others waited outside, and a third remained in the vehicle. The man inside the restaurant pulled out a handgun and abducted Meier As her husband, watched and was left behind.
Additionally, in a short video released by the captors on Sunday, August 19, 2007, Meier stated, “I’m okay, I want my country to try to help secure my freedom as soon as possible.”
At the conclusion of the video, one of her captors stated the kidnappers were not Taliban militants. The kidnapper continued to demand the release of several prisoners believed to be incarcerated in Afghan prisons stating, “For her [Meier’s] release, we want Hamid Karzai’s government to free our innocent prisoners.”
On August 20, 2007, in a pre-dawn raid, Afghan police successfully rescued Meier. Upon her rescue, six captors were arrested. To date, four of the kidnappers remain in police custody. Afghan interior ministry officials tout a criminal gang motivated by ransom was behind the weekend kidnapping.
Germany at Risk
As we previously reported, the June 2007 terror warnings issued by German officials are purportedly based upon the distribution of a recent terror video released by the Afghanistan-based Taliban. According to video footage released by American media outlet, ABC News on June 18, 2007, the Taliban recently trained and dispatched upwards of 200 suicide bombers to the United States, UK, Canada, and Germany.
To date, Germany has not witnessed a large-scale terrorist attack on its soil, narrowly avoiding a terrorist attack on the country’s transportation system in July 2006 (previous report). However, as we have noted above, German citizens around the globe, and in particular in Afghanistan and Iraq, continue to be targeted for kidnapping.
Germany is perhaps viewed as a key target for terrorist attacks due to its perceived “pro-US” political and military stance. As conflicts persist in Iraq and Afghanistan, German assets, citizens, and troops, both at home and abroad, will likely continue to face the threat of terrorism.
